Chaelbs alkies



C. ALKINS.

RAIL BRAGE.

(No Model.)

No. 329,991. Patented Nov. 10, 1885.

CHARLES ALKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AJAX FORGECOMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

RAIL-BRACE.

BFECEFECATION forming part (:7 Letters Patent No. 329,991, datedNovember 10, 1885.

Serial No. 175,779. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES ALKINs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Braces, ofwhich the following isafull, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improvement in I 3 rail-braces; and itconsists in such a construction of said braces as will allow the top ofthe rail being braced in a much stronger manner than heretofore.

The special object of my invention is to provide a brace for securingrailroad-railsinplace upon ties and holding said rails from being forcedoutward or spread by the lateral pressure of the engine and ear wheels.Heretofore braces have been made principally from cast-iron or malleableand wrought iron. The objection to the former is that, owing to thebrittleness of cast-iron, the braces are often broken and rendereduseless,and to the latter those made from wrought or malleable iron 2the objection is its expensiveness. To avoid these difficulties, Ipropose to make a brace from old cast-steel rails and pieces thereof.

It is well known that in making ordinary rails, and before the same areshipped, the ends thereof, by reason of being irregular or beingexfoliated, or by reason of the too great length of the rails, or inorder to obtain smooth and sound ends and to bring all the rails to thedesired lengths, a portion of the ends are cut off to a greater orlesslength; and, further, in

repairing railroad-tracks worn rails are removed, the ends of the railthat have become exfoliated are cut off to a greater or less length, andthese pieces so cut off and old steel rails are of little or nocommercial value.

My improvement consists in a new article of manufacture made fromsections of theproper lengths of this refuse material and old rails,-and, further, in a railbrace of a new and use- 4 5 ful conformation,especially so in this, that the part of the rail-brace which ispresented against the rail is very heavy and substantial, and fits notonly underneath the head of the rail and supports the sameperpendicularly, but also fits up closely against the web of therail,which is the weakest part of the same as against lateral strain,and also rests upon the flange of the rail. Thus constructed, my bracefits close up against the head, flange, and Web of the rail andreenforces it at all parts of its contact, my rail- 5 5 brace thushaving the most of its metal and a sufficient amount thereof at a pointwhere the blows and strains are received, so that to a greater or lessextent the shock of the blow or strain will exhaust itself in theincreased body of metal there presented, instead of being translatedwith full force to the foot, where it is fastened to the ties, which isthe lighter part of the brace, and thus protects the rail from lateralstrain and from the force of the blow or sh ock to which the rail issubjected,all of which will more fully appear by reference to theaccompanying drawings.

Figure l is an end view of the rail section or blank for the brace.Figs. 2 and 3 represent the same after having been subjected to theblows of the hammer. Fig. at shows the same in position against therail.

After the rail is cut to the desired length, as shown in Fig. 1, thesame is heated and subjected to a severe blow with a hammer over a die,and assumes the position of Fig. 2. It is then subjected to anadditional blow or blows from the hammer over a second die, and assumesthe position of Fig. 3, which, after being punched for spikes, is readyfor use. After having received a sufficient complement of blows from thehammer while hot and while upon the second forming-die, said die beingof such a conformation as to bend the flange up while bringing the headB of the rail-section over to a vertical position, the heated flange andhead are brought together at f, thus practically uniting them as firmlyas if by a weld.

D represents the rail of the track; A, the brace when finished and readyfor use; '13, the head of the brace; C, the foot of the brace.

After the brace is placed in position against the rail it is manifestthat the resulting blow or strain of the passing train, as indicated inFig. at by the dotted lines d e, which falls entirely within the base ofthe re-enforced head of my brace, and therefore the center of gravity asto said brace being within the base of the said re-enforced head, almostthe entire disturbance of the shock or blow is received and exhausted insaid re-enforced head.

ICU

I am aware that railbraces have been made from wrought or malleable ironin which the head thereof has been presented to the flange, Web, andhead of the rail, and I do not claim such special construction.

I am also aware that rail-joints have been made containing as an elementin their construction a rail-section having its web inclined relative toits flange and base, and I do not therefore broadly claim suchformation-of a rail-section; but I am not aware that a railsection ofthe conformation described in this application has ever been used orpatented for any purpose. v

While Ihave stated as the object of-lny invention to be the utilizingold steel rails and refuse ends of steel rails or parts thereof, it isobvious that my brace can be made by cutting up and utilizing new rails,if it should be desired.

Having now fully described my invention,

what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As a new article of manufacture, a railbrace constructed,substantially as described, out of the fag or refuse ends of T-rails.

2. A rail-brace having the re-enforced solid head B so combined with arailroad-rail as to come in contact with the head, web, and flangethereof.

3. A rail-brace in which the foot 0 is extended to meet the head B, toform a support thereof, substantially as described.

4. A rail-brace constructed from a section of T-rail in which the flangeof said section is bent so as to form a support for the bent head of thesame.

CHARLES ALKINS.

Witnesses:

J. I. VEIDER, P. H. T. MASON.

